Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

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Daybreak
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Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#1 Post by Daybreak »

It would be fantastic to be able to see the status of a server without having to enter the game, to see if someone has had their turn

I see it working like this

Enter game client, choose Multiplayer, choose server (normally already chosen) Click on new button called Empire Status, and the Empire screen for that server is fetched from the server

A mock up
Multiplayer Empire Status.png
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Oberlus
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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#2 Post by Oberlus »

Assuming you have the credentials to see that info... (the numbers shown in the empire window depend on what your empire can see in-game).

But showing just the status of players (online?, turn played?) would not need to send user and password to the server.

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#3 Post by Daybreak »

Yes just see, Game Name, Online, and Green Tick, to see who has played or is online and playing their turn and who has not, would be fine

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#4 Post by Daybreak »

on second thought button should be called Player status

o01eg
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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#5 Post by o01eg »

Daybreak wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 9:29 am Yes just see, Game Name, Online, and Green Tick, to see who has played or is online and playing their turn and who has not, would be fine
Technically it possible to show in Lobby window also I planned to display also info about winner empires and eliminated empires but columns here quite hard.
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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#6 Post by Daybreak »

o01eg wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 4:58 pm
Daybreak wrote: Wed May 25, 2022 9:29 am Yes just see, Game Name, Online, and Green Tick, to see who has played or is online and playing their turn and who has not, would be fine
Technically it possible to show in Lobby window also I planned to display also info about winner empires and eliminated empires but columns here quite hard.
I saw it as a new window that pops up when the button is chosen, not part of the lobby window, if that helps with the issue.

I am not sure about winning empires is needed as I assume that means the game is over, and so far in the future I think most players would be aware of it anyway, plus I assume it means the server is still running even whentbhe game is finished.

However showing the little winning icon, and skull icons if a player is eliminated, should be easy in that separate window.

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#7 Post by Daybreak »

New mockup

I actually see this window, as just a place to see if everyone or some people have had their turn, and also times they have in the past been online to come back and check. I have also added if they have been eliminated or had some other type of Win.

Basically a way to avoid logging in to the server to see what is going on.

Excuse the MS 3D paint program I had to use as that is all I have on this machine. It immediately merges any addition down, in a position it decides and you can no longer reselect it. CtL z works at least.

bd
Multiplayer Player Status.png
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I assume you have to get some type of consensus here before entering into Github?

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Vezzra
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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#8 Post by Vezzra »

Daybreak wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 8:11 pmI assume you have to get some type of consensus here before entering into Github?
Depends on what you mean by that. You do not need a general consensus before you put up a feature request on Github. In cases like this (a specific feature request) it's actually a good idea to open a feature request issue on Github and a corresponding discussion thread here on this subforum, and linking both to each other.

Brainstorming general ideas however should be done here on the forum. Feature requests on Github should be specific (not something like: "We should add espionage to the game").

However, if by "before entering into Github" you mean putting up pull requests implementing a feature, then it would be advisible to first discuss the feature to get an idea how well received it's going to be. Otherwise you might invest quite some time and effort into something only to hear a "we won't add that to FO" once you put up your PR, which will probably be very frustrating. So in order to spare yourself such frustration, discuss features before providing implementations.

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Oberlus
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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#9 Post by Oberlus »

Daybreak wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 8:11 pm and also times they have in the past been online to come back and check
I'm wary about this, but my concern is maybe irrelevant:

The same there is some reason for people to hide online status in a forum or hide last time online in messaging apps, I don't know if it is OK to show connecting patterns of the players to anyone probing the server, plus I don't think it is actually helpful.

If you are one of the players in the game, with access to the logs, you already have that info, so it's not a concern to show it also before connecting. But showing it before authentication is not the same.

Also, showing 4-hour time slots is not that informative, showing more slots is not nice (screen space, having to scroll), there are notifications for when a turn has been played (so you don't need to check out the game, just check your email/jabber), and the actually useful information is who is online (not when is usually online someone).

So I suggest showing only the green tick if the player has played the turn and the person orange icon if the player is online at the moment, but no time slots or any other form of sumary of connecting patterns of the players.

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#10 Post by Daybreak »

Oberlus wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 11:54 am
Daybreak wrote: Fri May 27, 2022 8:11 pm and also times they have in the past been online to come back and check
I'm wary about this, but my concern is maybe irrelevant:

The same there is some reason for people to hide online status in a forum or hide last time online in messaging apps, I don't know if it is OK to show connecting patterns of the players to anyone probing the server, plus I don't think it is actually helpful.

If you are one of the players in the game, with access to the logs, you already have that info, so it's not a concern to show it also before connecting. But showing it before authentication is not the same.

So I suggest showing only the green tick if the player has played the turn and the person orange icon if the player is online at the moment, but no time slots or any other form of sumary of connecting patterns of the players.
I did think about that, however it does not matter - no one can sneak up on you. They may play a turn, but still have to wait until each player has had their turn. As you say you can see the times people log in and out in the messages.

Thiis idea came about becuase it is so wasteful logging fully into the game just to see if some has had their turn, and then using the logs of previous logins by players I then started coming back to check at those certain times I knew they had prevously connected. If everyone had some type of idea of when to look it would save everyone time.

If this was a short timed game, maybe the screen could be set by server admin, so times were not displayed. However I have no problem if it is not part of the idea.
Oberlus wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 11:54 am
Also, showing 4-hour time slots is not that informative, showing more slots is not nice (screen space, having to scroll), there are notifications for when a turn has been played (so you don't need to check out the game, just check your email/jabber), and the actually useful information is who is online (not when is usually online someone).
How do you set that up?

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#11 Post by Oberlus »

Daybreak wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:15 pm As you say you can see the times people log in and out in the messages.
No, only if you connect to the game, if you are authenticated.
Allowing the people that play with you to see your connections is one thing, letting any random bot to probe the server and gather that info without aunthentication is another.

it is so wasteful logging fully into the game just to see if some has had their turn
Absolutely. Specially because when turn advances you get a notification. No need at all to do that.

using the logs of previous logins by players I then started coming back to check at those certain times I knew they had prevously connected.
Uselessly, I bet, because it doesn't make a differencw if this or that player played or usually plays turn at that time: if everyone played and turn advanced, you got an email; otherwise, you connecting to check out won't change anything.
If everyone had some type of idea of when to look it would save everyone time.
Not really. We already have that information (it's been a few weeks of gaming, we saw the patterns), and that is not saving me any time. It doesn't matter if you know when people usually connect, it only matters if they are online. EndHu tends to play around 20:00 of my local time. OK. Many times doesn't. However, if turn advances I know for sure (notification).

The use case of this suggestion for me, the utility, is at being able to see if someone I'd like to chat with is online, or if the players that haven't played yet are now online and I can expect a new turn soon.
None of those use cases require showing conection patterns.


So I stick to what I said. No time slots, only current states.

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#12 Post by Oberlus »

Daybreak wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:15 pm
Oberlus wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 11:54 am there are notifications for when a turn has been played (so you don't need to check out the game, just check your email/jabber
How do you set that up?
You don't. It's by default: you gave o01eg some email or jabber user to let you connect to the server. You get notifications of new turns or "you are last to turn" in that email or jabber account.

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#13 Post by o01eg »

Oberlus wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:40 pm
Daybreak wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:15 pm How do you set that up?
You don't. It's by default: you gave o01eg some email or jabber user to let you connect to the server. You get notifications of new turns or "you are last to turn" in that email or jabber account.
Recently notifications of new turns could be received with RSS/Atom. I post link in each game forum.
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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#14 Post by Daybreak »

Oberlus wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:36 pm So I stick to what I said. No time slots, only current states.
Ok status only, which now makes more sense based on the Turn notifications, which I did not know existed.
o01eg wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 6:12 pm
Oberlus wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:40 pm
Daybreak wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 1:15 pm How do you set that up?
You don't. It's by default: you gave o01eg some email or jabber user to let you connect to the server. You get notifications of new turns or "you are last to turn" in that email or jabber account.
Recently notifications of new turns could be received with RSS/Atom. I post link in each game forum.
I dont get email notifications -I just checked my email, and have never received one.

I have installed a RSS feed on my phone and thanks o01eg now have the RSS feed running. I did not realise this was what it was, and had been thinking of a way so everyone could be notified when a turn had been completed or easily see it which is why I thought of all of the above. You are all way ahead of me with this, so will just leave it.

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Re: Multiplayer Server update of Empire status

#15 Post by Oberlus »

Daybreak wrote: Sun May 29, 2022 10:46 pm I dont get email notifications -I just checked my email, and have never received one.
Until your previous post, it never occured to me that you were not getting emails. Now your sugestión makes more sense.

Your emails are probably in the spam folder.

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